**Tragic Attack on UN Helicopter in South Sudan Leaves Multiple Casualties**

**An attack on a UN helicopter during a troop evacuation in South Sudan's Upper Nile state has claimed several lives, highlighting the fragile peace in the nation.**

Several individuals lost their lives in South Sudan following a violent incident involving a UN helicopter, which was on a mission to extract wounded troops from ongoing conflict. According to a statement from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), one crew member was killed when the helicopter came under fire during its operation. Among the deceased were also a South Sudanese general and multiple soldiers who were being evacuated. The UN condemned the attack, stating it “may constitute a war crime.”

President Salva Kiir reported that another helicopter was able to depart the scene shortly after the attack but subsequently crash-landed, resulting in the deaths of all onboard. However, Unmiss clarified that both of its aircraft successfully returned to Malakal without incident. Information Minister Michael Makuei has reported a total of twenty-seven soldiers killed in the incident.

The violence in Upper Nile is posing a significant threat to the fragile peace agreement established between President Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar. The two leaders’ rift in 2013 ignited a devastating five-year civil war, which saw approximately 400,000 fatalities and displaced 2.5 million individuals. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2018, tensions have persisted since then.

The ongoing clashes involve South Sudan’s armed forces and the White Army, an ethnic militia formerly allied with Machar. Unmiss had been facilitating evacuations from the conflict zone under mutual agreements with both military factions. In his statement, Unmiss chief Nicholas Haysom condemned the attack as "utterly abhorrent" and expressed profound sorrow over the loss of lives during the evacuation efforts, acknowledging that assurances had been received for safe passage.

General Majur Dak, who was killed in the attack, commanded the forces in the Nasir region of Upper Nile. Alongside the deteriorating security situation, multiple arrests have fueled fears of escalating violence, particularly as several of Machar's allies, including the oil minister and a high-ranking general, were detained recently. In response to the panic created by the attack, President Kiir urged citizens to remain calm and reassured them that his government would manage the situation, emphasizing the need to prevent the nation from sliding back into conflict. South Sudan, which became independent from Sudan in 2011, remains the world’s newest nation, grappling with the ongoing struggles of establishing enduring peace.